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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · mark · fork · wound · pitcher · bear · game · net

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fork — in a road
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. net — in sport
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wound — an injury
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. net — for catching
  20. mark — a trace
  21. game — a match
  22. net — after costs
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. pitcher — in baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com